30 Day Anime Challenge (2022): Day 16 – Favorite Weapon, Gear or Armor in Anime

I wanted my choice for this challenge to be something that wasn’t necessarily an all-powerful weapon. While those are cool, they tend to end things really quickly, acting more like a trump card instead of an actual weapon that takes skill to wield. It’s more interesting if the fight ends organically and less like drawing the fifth piece of Exodia.

Exodia, get the writers out of this tough situation for our hero!

I’ve chosen the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear (ODM Gear) from Attack on Titan. I avoided spoilers for AoT, so feel free to read on even if you haven’t seen the show.

I like a few things about the ODM Gear. It’s practical (for it’s purpose), it has a fairly believable design (small enough to be worn, requires gas tanks to function, etc), it has a moderate skill floor and a high skill ceiling (it can be used for it’s most basic function by a newcomer while a veteran can use it creatively), and it enhances fight scenes without being an unstoppable weapon.

That last part that makes it my favorite pick. Suddenly, fighting a titan is possible, but still just barely for most situations. They have to use the ODM gear to move quickly and out-maneuver the Titans; even anchoring the cables in the wrong spot can guarantee death if a Titan grabs them. Run of out gas to propel the ODM gear? Almost certain death.

ODM gear also has a location weakness. It’s most practical as a defensive tactic within the city thanks to the many anchor points provided by the buildings. But that’s also the very last place they want Titans to be. When the Scouts are exploring beyond the wall, they have to be aware of any places that have tall trees they can use as anchor points in case of a titan attack. While the ODM gear can be used to anchor to a titan directly, it’s a dangerous position for the Scouts to put themselves in and should only be used when there aren’t any other options.

The nature of the titans means that swords (used at the neck) are the most practical method of executing them for those living in the Walls. The ODM gear gives the soldiers the mobility they need to get close enough to use them. Without a method of getting up high and close very quickly, the Titans would quickly overrun the population.

Thanks to this mobility, the fights become incredibly fast paced. Soldiers dance along the rooftops, glide along the ground, launch themselves around walls and at each other, all in an effort to maneuver around and execute the titans as efficiently as possible.

It can be a lot of fun to see an unstoppable weapon come in to save the day. But all sense of urgency melts away when that happens. I want to see people triumph despite the odds, not because an inanimate object suddenly overcame the odds for them. Victory should never be guaranteed or assumed, especially because a piece of gear suddenly shows up and is magically the answer they were looking for all along.